Aug 12 London Riots: What This Means for Travelers

As many of you have been hearing, the last few days there have been some intense riots in one of my favorite cities in the world, London. Unfortunately, if you listen into the news they are only providing what is happening now and not sharing with us the root of why this is happening.

source: the news inn

Since I love this city so much, I am going to share with you guys some of the background as to why this is happening: On August 4, 2011, the Metropolitan Police Services had planned to arrest Mark Duggan, a black male that lives in Tottenham (to give you a local perspective, think Cabrini Green in Chicago) for allegedly dealing cocaine, selling guns and being a member of the 'Star Gang.' In the midst of their arrest, the police claim that Mark Duggan was carrying a loaded handgun and shot at them so in self-defense they shot right back and unfortunately killed the 29 year old male.

On top of that, the police officers where of course Caucasians (calling the racism card) and the British economy hasn't been doing so well (no jobs, no money = very unhappy communities). Thus, at first this was supposed to be a peaceful protest to bring awareness and resolution to these issues. Unfortunately, in matter of hours this peaceful protest turned into a nightmare. As we have seen in the news, people have been looting, burning buildings, and pretending to help others and then stealing from the victims. The situation has gotten out of control and many other cities across England are now being tormented with these riots.

With all of this said, what does this mean to us travelers? The U.S. and many other countries around the world, have asked their citizens to avoid traveling to U.K. until the riots have ceased. If you choose to avoid this alert, then please make sure to avoid visiting anything that is outside the main tourists locations within the city of London. At this moment, these locations have not been invaded or disturbed by the rioters so you will be safe there. If you are planning to stay at hotel that is anywhere near the riots, my recommendation is to cancel and re-book somewhere else, anywhere near the Tube's (aka metro/train) area 1 is pretty safe.

I hope the British government can take control again over this situation and help cease this before it gets worse. The last thing we need is for this to continue to grow and become a civil war (likely not to happen). If you haven't visited London, definitely add this city to your travel wish list. It is by far one of my most favorite cities in the world for it's diversity in culture, food, and I also have a personal fascination with the Royal Family so maybe that is why I love England so much.

#happyvalentinesday to my forever love... You don't know, babe
When you hold me
And kiss me slowly
It's the sweetest thing
And it don't change
If I had it my way
You would know that you are
You're the coffee that I need in the morning
You're my sunshine in the rain when it's pouring
Won't you give yourself to me
Give it all, oh
I just wanna see
I just wanna see how beautiful you are
You know that I see it
I know you're a star
Where you go I follow
No matter how far
If life is a movie
Oh you're the best part, oh oh oh
You're the best part, oh oh oh
Best part
It's the sunrise
And those brown eyes, yes
You're the one that I desire
When we wake up
And then we make love
It makes me feel so nice
You're my water when I'm stuck in the desert
You're the Tylenol I take when my head hurts
You're the sunshine on my life
@danielcaesar

Take me back to Paris, please!

Our second stop during our road trip to Dallas, we visited Memphis. We went to the MLK memorial where Dr. King was shot and killed. It was a super moving moment for me because I remembered all the stories my godfather shared with me during his time as an activist along side of Dr. King. We were also starving and grabbed some Memphis BBQ at Central BBQ. Super tasty and so worth the calories. Even though it's been a fun road trip, I can't wait to get to our home in Dallas!

Our roadtrip back to Dallas included a stop at my alma mater, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, The home of the Fighting ILLINI! Glad I FINALLY brought my hubby to see this stunning campus.

New year =
New frames
New hairdo
New city
New life
New job
New me
Bring it 2019!